Conditions Right Now
Your Loadout 🎣 Stock Up on Gear
Tackle + Bait Slots
Trolling: dodger + pink squid, corn-tipped. Winter loadout: auger, ice cleats, short jig rod, insulated bibs.
Why Fish Here
Strawberry is a DWR Blue Ribbon fishery, and the regulations are why it fishes the way it does. The slot protects every cutthroat from 15 to 22 inches, so the mid-size fish you hook all morning go back and the lake keeps growing big ones. Your limit is four trout or kokanee combined, no more than one cutthroat over 22 inches. Keep trout whole until you are home, because filleting or removing heads and tails in the field is not allowed.
How To Fish It
Best rigs: White 3" tube jig on 1/8 oz head over 15-30 ft; troll pop gear + worm; pink squids for kokes at 30-50 ft
Bait and lures: Tube jigs, minnow-pattern lures, shoepeg corn on koke gear
Best time: First light to 10 AM. Season: Ice-off (May) & October; great ice fishing
Local tip: Utah's best trout lake, period. Release all cutthroat 15-22 in (slot limit). The Ladders & Chicken Creek arms produce.
Species Playbook
Cutthroat Trout
Rig: Strawberry: white tube jig 15-30 ft; Bear Lake: troll minnow-profile lures
Bait: Tube jigs, dead minnows (where legal), dry flies in creeks
When: Morning bite is king; ice-off is legendary
The Bonneville cutthroat is Utah's state fish. Strawberry slot: release cutts 15-22 in.
Rainbow Trout
Rig: Slip-bobber or sliding sinker rig, 4 lb mono line, size 8-10 baitholder
Bait: PowerBait (rainbow/garlic), nightcrawler, small spinners (Panther Martin, Jake's)
When: Early morning & last 2 hours before dark
Utah's #1 fish. If a pond got stocked this week, cast anything shiny. Perfect first fish for kids.
Kokanee Salmon
Rig: Troll pink/orange squid behind a dodger, 25-60 ft down
Bait: Pink squids tipped with white shoepeg corn
When: Crack of dawn - bite dies mid-morning
CLOSED to harvest during fall spawn (check dates). Turn bright red in September.
Getting There + Nearby
Nearby adventures: Strawberry Bay Campground (Camping, 2 mi) · Strawberry River (Fishing, 11 mi) · Currant Creek (Fishing, 11 mi) · Whiting Campground (Camping, 23 mi)
Quick Answers
- What fish are in Strawberry Reservoir?
- Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Kokanee Salmon.
- What is the best bait at Strawberry Reservoir?
- Tube jigs, minnow-pattern lures, shoepeg corn on koke gear
- When is the best time to fish Strawberry Reservoir?
- First light to 10 AM. Season: Ice-off (May) & October; great ice fishing.
- Why fish Strawberry Reservoir?
- Because the cutthroat here are managed to grow large rather than be harvested small. DWR designates Strawberry a Blue Ribbon fishery and stocks cutthroat, rainbow and kokanee annually, and the 15 to 22 inch protected slot keeps the predator population intact. Anglers also get a shot at kokanee, which few Utah waters offer.